The Fallen Arrow
by SlugMamma
Summary: Here, we imagine a very different beginning to season three…Following the tragic loss of Oliver Queen at the hands of a mysterious enemy, John Diggle must fight to protect the city Oliver loved and bring his killers to justice. Can Diggle and his allies save Starling in time?
1. The Funeral of Oliver Queen

_Here, we imagine a very different beginning to season three…_

 _Following the tragic loss of Oliver Queen at the hands of a mysterious enemy, John Diggle must fight to protect the city Oliver loved and bring his killers to justice. Can Diggle and his allies save Starling in time?_

THE FALLEN ARROW

Chapter One – The Funeral of Oliver Queen

A cool breeze blew gently through the trees that shaded the mourners, and the grass was still wet with morning dew. Felicity sat on one of the soft, low seats around the casket. Tears streamed down her face. She took off her glasses and dabbed the tears from her cheeks with a tissue. John Diggle was standing behind her, and he placed a hand on her shoulder now, squeezing gently.

"Don't blame yourself, Felicity," he said, his eyes scanning the small gathering. All the mourners were dressed in black. "We both know that Oliver wouldn't want that."

Felicity nodded, sniffling.

Between his army training and his work as a bodyguard, scanning his surroundings had become instinctual for mister Diggle. He saw that Oliver's next of kin were there, as well as members of the Lance family. Everyone that should have been there, except for Thea Queen. She had left Starling City, and no one knew where she was or how to reach her. Roy had left Starling to look for her, but in some ways it was better Thea wasn't here. She had buried Oliver once already.

When the minister finished giving the eulogy, the mourners began to file past the casket and pay their final respects. Felicity was first, as she had been Oliver's fiancée. She stood up and stepped forward, but by the time she reached the casket she broke down sobbing. Quentin Lance was beside her now, having bravely stepped forward to comfort her.

"It's okay to cry, darlin'," he said, putting an arm around her, supporting her. The look on his face was somber. "I know it hurts."

When it was Diggle's turn, he stood by the casket and placed a hand on the dark wood of its lid, in a small spot between the flowers.

"You were a good man, Oliver," Diggle said. "But more than that, you…" He paused, the words catching in his throat. His eyes were wet with tears. "You were my friend." Diggle squeezed his eyes shut tightly, willing himself not to cry. He had to be strong, he told himself. His voice now reduced to a whisper. "I will finish what you started," he said with determination. "I will make this right."

Oliver had died doing something he believed in. He knew the risks, the danger that he was putting himself in. There had been so many narrow escapes, so many times when Diggle had pulled Oliver back from the brink. But now Oliver was gone, and it felt like the world had stopped turning. Only it hadn't, and it was a world where the criminals that had taken Oliver's life walked free. Diggle turned away now, knowing what he had to do. He just wasn't sure how to do it.

Diggle set down the weights he had been lifting, let out a long breath, and took a drink. He always did his best thinking when he was working out; it cleared his head and allowed him to think. He tried to remember everything that had happened the night they lost Oliver. It all started when a group of thieves had hijacked a shipment of enriched uranium on its way to Starling City Power & Light's Reactor 1, the nuclear plant down by the river. Felicity had been able to detect a trail of residual radiation left by the escaping thieves, which led to an abandoned warehouse in The Glades.

"We have to act now," Oliver had said, donning his quiver and lifting his bow from its cradle. "Before they try to move that uranium, and get it to a buyer. We can't let it leave the city. Felicity, call Detective Lance."

"Okay," she said. She swiveled around in her chair to face them, and gave them a halfhearted smile. "Be careful you two."

Oliver looked at her, his eyes softening for a moment. He just nodded.

"We will," Diggle said, returning her smile. He holstered his gun and hurried after Oliver. They had been through so many scrapes together that no one thought that this could be their last mission.

When they arrived at the warehouse, it was dark and there were no signs of activity. The doors were all locked. No light shone from the windows, which were all about two meters off the ground. Even if they could climb up and open a window, the opening would be too small for one of them to pass through.

"I'm going to try to find another way inside, stay here," Oliver said, raising his bow and firing it at the wall of the warehouse. His arrow struck just below the top of the wall, and it carried with it the end of a thin cable. The other end of the cable remained attached to Oliver's bow, and as he triggered a mechanism within the bow, the cable retracted, pulling Oliver and the bow up the wall. In the blink of an eye, Oliver had disappeared into the night, having vaulted over the wall and onto the roof of the warehouse. Diggle was alone. Now he had to rely on Oliver's voice in his ear.

"I'm in," Oliver said a moment later. The warehouse was huge, but Diggle knew that Oliver had a handheld radiation meter with him. He would find the enriched uranium and the thieves that had taken it. He would only call on Diggle if he needed his help.

Oliver looked down at the radiation meter in his hand. It was registering 120 microsieverts and rising as he moved towards a lit central portion of the warehouse. As he got closer, he could hear voices and the sound of shuffling feet. Once he was close enough he climbed atop a crate, and from there he could look down and see them. There were about twenty men, all dressed in black combat gear and busying themselves with something. They had cleared a portion of the floor, and had erected a wall of crates, palettes, and other junk around them. Oliver studied the complicated apparatus that they were working on. It lay on a well-lit workbench, and was about the size of a microwave oven. _It's a nuclear device_ , he thought. _They're building a bomb_. With a few of his explosive arrows, Oliver knew he could take them all out. However, he had sworn long ago that he would not take a life unnecessarily.

"They are using the uranium to build a bomb," he said, just loud enough that his microphone would pick it up and the rest of his team could hear. "What is the status of the police?"

"They're on their way, but Detective Lance said they have to get a warrant before they can enter the warehouse," Felicity told him. _That could take ten to fifteen minutes_ , Oliver thought. He studied the men. They looked trained, maybe even paramilitary. They wore black ski masks, body armor, and carried assault rifles. If the police tried to take this building, there would be heavy casualties. However, he had the element of surprise. It was his duty to disable as many of them as he could.

 _Whoosh-plat, whoosh plat!_ Jonah Kenneth whirled to see two of his men backed up against wooden crates, arrows pinning them there. _Starling City's vigilante has found us,_ he thought. _The Arrow is here_. His men were confused, pointing their guns into the darkness that surrounded them. He saw fear in the eyes that peered from behind their masks.

"Turn on the lights!" he commanded them, just as another arrow came zipping into their group. One of the men screamed in pain; an arrow had gone clean through his hand. His weapon went clattering to the floor. One of the men squeezed off a few rounds in the direction he thought the arrow had originated. _Rat-a-tattat!_

"Secure the weapon! Prepare it for transport!" he barked, the lights coming on now. "I will deal with the Arrow!"

 _Whoosh-plat, whoosh plat!_ Two more arrows. Two more of his men rendered useless. _I will meet this vigilante_ , he thought. He knew just how to draw him out. As his men prepared to move the weapon, he stepped from the protective corral of crates and refuse and into the open.

Oliver retreated into the shadows. He had lost his advantage, and he hoped the police would move in and finish the job. He would be there if things got out of hand. Just then, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked and saw a tall slender figure clad in a long black cloak moving into the open. This was the figure Oliver had seen giving orders. The hood of the cloak was up, and the figure's face was obscured. _The leader_ , Oliver thought. The figure was moving quickly, headed toward the nearest exit door. _No_ , Oliver thought. _You will not slip away into the darkness. Not if I have anything to say about it._ Oliver moved to pursue, sliding the nock of another arrow onto his bowstring. He activated a device that would disguise his voice.

"Stop, or I shoot!" Oliver commanded. The figure whirled to face Oliver, his face now only partly hidden _._ It was a man.

"Ah, the vigilante!" The man said. "Have you come to kill me?"

"I have come to stop you," Oliver said, raising his fully drawn bow. "Now surrender," he commanded.

The man lifted his hood now, exposing his face. He looked familiar. Oliver had the strange sense that he had met this man before.

"Do I look familiar?" the man asked. "Everyone always said I looked like my brother."

The man was tall, with short dark hair. There was something not quite right about the man's eyes. Something dark and sinister about them. Oliver searched the man's face. He couldn't place this man, or his brother.

"You don't remember him, do you?" The man said. "You've killed so many, of course you wouldn't remember."

Now Oliver remembered. Yes, he had killed this man's brother. His brother had been one of Blood's men; injected with the Mirakuru. Oliver hadn't had a choice.

"You killed him," The man said. "You took him away from me, and now I'm going to take something away from you."

"You're brother was a criminal," Oliver said. "He killed innocent people! I do what I do to protect this city, and I have to live with what I've done."

"I know you love this city," the man said, his expression dark and serious now. "And that is why I will destroy it."

Suddenly, the man extended his arms horizontally, and from under the sleeves of his cloak shot small needles. Oliver dove to the floor to avoid them, at the same time loosing an arrow at the man. The arrow hit its mark, striking the man in the leg. At the moment of impact, however, Oliver heard the _thwack_ of an arrow hitting body armor. Had Oliver's bow been set to its maximum draw weight, his arrow would have packed enough kinetic energy to penetrate body armor, but he had set his bow to a lower draw weight to make it less lethal. He would have to aim for a gap in the man's armor. It would be hard to find it through that cloak.

The man shot more needles, and Oliver rolled out of the way to avoid them, rolling to safety behind a stack of crates. Oliver stood up behind the crates, and with his back to them, he tried to talk the man down.

"Your brother was injected with Mirakuru," Oliver told the man. "It changed him, made him into a monster. I had no choice."

"I too have been changed, but that doesn't make me a monster!" the man said, angry now. "The night the particle accelerator at Star Labs died, I became powerful! Now I will use my power to get justice for my brother!"

Oliver listened intently, and could hear the man slowly coming closer. This man was dangerous, Oliver knew. He had to be brought down, but if the police stormed in here and tried to take him, many people could die. It was up to Oliver to try to stop him, without killing him. Maybe the man could still be reached.

Jonah stepped around the corner of the pile of crates that the Arrow had taken cover behind, but the Arrow was no longer there.

"You cannot hide from me," he said. Then, out of the darkness came a bola, whipping through the air towards him. He dodged out of the way with incredible speed.

 _This guy is fast_ , Oliver thought. Had the bolas worked, they would have entangled the man. _I must be faster._

With another arrow on his bowstring, this one tipped with a tranquilizer, Oliver moved stealthily through the shadows. He had maneuvered around the piles of crates and refuse until he was behind the man in the black cloak. Now he jumped into the open and let the arrow fly, this time aiming for where the man's arm joined his shoulder. The man was only a few meters away, but somehow still managed to avoid the arrow. Almost as if he knew it was coming. Like he could sense it. Oliver spun on his heel now as the man sent a barrage of needles his way, withdrawing back behind the stack of crates.

One of the needles had hit Oliver in the leg, sending a sharp pain shooting through it. The needle had embedded itself in his calf, and Oliver bent now and pulled it out.

"This ends now," Oliver threatened.

"Or what, you'll kill me like you killed my brother?" the man said.

"I never take a life unless it is absolutely necessary," Oliver said, defending himself. He could hear the cloaked man coming closer. This time Oliver stood his ground, and as the man neared the crates where Oliver stood, he sprung into action. With bow in one hand and an arrow in the other, Oliver turned the corner and came at the man, swinging his bow hard and striking the man in the arm with one of its carbon fiber reinforced limbs. The man brought up his other hand as if to strike Oliver, but Oliver used the arrow like a knife: as the man's hand came up Oliver swung the arrow down, plunging the point into the back of the man's hand. The man let out a cry of pain that quickly changed to a hiss, and for a moment his eyes changed. His irises became yellow while his pupils became vertical slits.

The eyes of a snake.

With his good hand and a burst of power, the man struck Oliver hard in the solar plexus, sending him flying through the air and crashing into a stack of old wooden pallets.

With a swoosh of his cloak, the man was gone, running away and disappearing into the shadows.

Oliver was hurt, but he wasn't giving up. He got to his feet and went to take a step forward, but stumbled. He almost fell, but grabbed at a nearby pillar for support. Something was wrong. His leg, the one that had been hit by a needle, was feeling numb. _How can that be?_ He wondered. He hadn't lost that much blood. What was wrong with his leg?

***moments earlier

Suddenly, Diggle heard gunshots. The lights came on in the warehouse, and light came streaming from the window above Diggle's head. _Where the hell are the cops?_ Diggle wondered.

"Come on, Oliver," he said under his breath. He began shifting his weight back and forth between his feet uneasily. He waited patiently until Oliver spoke. A minute or two later he did.

"Something's wrong Diggle." His voice sounded strained, almost labored.

"I'm coming," Diggle replied, drawing his sidearm. He pointed it at the lock of the nearest door, and fired three shots into it. Then he picked up a length of pipe off the ground and struck the door lever with it. The lock broke with a loud crack, and he was able to force the door open. Inside he found a dimly lit maze of crates, palettes, and other forgotten items. It smelled of damp concrete.

"I'm in. Where is he Felicity?" Diggle asked.

"About twenty meters northwest of you," Felicity said. "Oliver?" she asked, worried. "What's happening?" There was no response.

Diggle began to make his way through the mess. He could only see for a few meters in any direction, there was that much refuse stacked up on the floor of the warehouse.

Suddenly, Diggle heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He whirled around, just in time to see a man in a ski mask bringing up the barrel of an assault rifle. Diggle sprung to the left just as the attacker squeezed off a burst of gunfire, sending bullets flying through the air where Diggle's ribs had been just a half second before. Diggle took off in a sprint in Oliver's direction, weaving around obstacles so as not to allow the masked gunman pursuing him a clear shot.

As Diggle neared Oliver's location, he heard a shuffling noise around the corner, and then Oliver cry out in pain.

"I'm coming Oliver," Diggle said, rushing ahead. Just then, a hail of bullets rained down around him, and he was forced to take cover. The bullets came ripping through the wooden crates around him, filling the air with splinters of wood and other debris. Suddenly, Diggle felt a sudden pain in his leg, the shock of which forced him down onto one knee. One of the bullets had grazed the outside of his leg. He quickly assessed the wound. It was bleeding, but it wasn't serious. Now on his hands and knees, he crawled forward until he could see around the corner. He saw Oliver about six meters away, lying on the floor immobile.

"Oliver's down, I'm gonna try to get him out," Digg said to Felicity. There were too many attackers, heavily armed and closing in. But Diggle was a soldier, and he would never leave a fellow soldier behind. He got into a crouch, gritted his teeth, and broke into a run toward the fallen Arrow.

"Go home Felicity," Diggle said. Felicity sat at her computer console, her head in her hands. She had offered to help, but Digg couldn't stand seeing her like this. They had buried Oliver only yesterday, and this was a time to mourn. "Not now Felicity. I know how you feel, and I know you want to help, but there is nothing you can do right now." She protested, said she was fine, but Digg insisted, and eventually she gave in, and went home.

He was alone now, standing in the Arrow's secret center of operations. It was quiet, as Felicity's world-class computer workstation was powered down, it's multiple screens dark. They had tried to find out who owned the warehouse that the thieves had used, but that had turned into a dead end. Also, the uranium was shielded now, meaning there was no residual radiation trail for them to follow.

What Diggle did know was that Starling City Power & Light would have to receive another shipment of enriched uranium soon. The reactor had already spent 95% of its remaining fuel rods, and if they weren't replaced with new ones in a week, the plant would have to shut down and the city would go dark. There would be chaos, riots, and looting in the streets. This shipment would be even more heavily guarded than the first, but if the same thieves that stole the first one got a hold of it, they would have enough for a bomb. A nuclear bomb. Digg had to do what he could to stop them, if not for Oliver, but for the people of the city, the ones Oliver had tried so hard to protect. Digg knew the forces he was up against were dangerous, deadly, and out of control.

Diggle turned now, looking through the transparent cases where the Arrow's suit and weapons were stored. The cases were dark, their lights off now, but he saw the dark shapes inside. Diggle could fight, but he knew that he could never replace Oliver. He could never be the Arrow. He couldn't match Oliver's speed, his agility. His skill with a bow. He needed help; he needed someone who could fight. These were desperate times. They called for desperate measures.


	2. On Lian Yu

Chapter Two – On Lian Yu

It was afternoon now, and the ocean water slapped playfully on the shore to John Diggle's left. In front of him lay the hatch to an underground bunker. The sand beneath his feet shifted as Diggle sighed deeply and drug a hand across his face.

It had been a long flight and right now, Dig felt as if he needed a drink.

When he'd mentioned his idea of coming here to Felicity, her reaction had been less than stunning.

"That idea…" she had quavered. "Might just be crazy enough…TO GET US ALL KILLED!"

Nevertheless, he made his way to the bunker's hatch, bent down, and began spinning the wheel. Finally, after the deadbolt had been withdrawn, he popped the hatch open, its metal hinge creaking loudly. Digg frowned into the dimness beneath him, lit up only by a small fluorescent light. It smelled dank, moldy, and depressing inside. _Wonderful,_ he thought _._

When Dig stepped off the bottom of the ladder and turned, he found himself suddenly faced with a heavyset door. By the sunlight flowing in from the open hatch, Dig read the words painted on it in bold letters, combined with a familiar symbol: A.R.G.U.S. Beyond that door would be a cell.

The cell.

 _His_ cell.

It didn't seem that long ago that he'd seen Oliver walk out of this room. After one of those talks with the occupant that always ended with Oliver being more brooding than usual. Diggle himself had never come in here alone before.

With determination, he turned the handle and pulled open the door. Slowly he poked his head into the gap he'd made and into the dimly lit room.

"Hello in there!" He called. "What's so important that you have to live?!"

Deep within the cell, behind the thick steel bars, came a growling reply. "My revenge upon Oliver Queen has not been had. And until he is dead, I will not rest."

Dig pushed the door open fully and casually walked in. "Well…" He shrugged his enormous shoulders. "Sorry to burst your evil bubble, Slade, but someone beat you to it. Oliver's dead."

A large form rose from the darkness and quickly made its way towards him. "What?" Slade asked as he grasped the bars of his cell, his face a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief.

Dig crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes slightly at Slade's enormous beard. "Yup. He was killed five days ago during a mission."

Slade's eye searched Dig's expression before his gaze fell to the floor.

Eventually he released a breath and backed away from the bars, going to sit on his cot. "I'm sorry for your loss. But I'm not quite sure why you are here telling me this news in person." He pawed at his messy hair.

"I just thought you might like to know that your whole purpose in life has passed you by. And I figured…"

Slade looked back up at him.

"Maybe you'd be interested in helping me stop Oliver's killers."

Slade's eyebrows lowered. "Oliver's death is good news to me. Why would I want to stop his killers? They managed to do what I could not."

Dig tilted his head back. "Yeah, they managed to do what you could not. But they also took away the pleasure of being able to do it yourself some day. I know you Slade, you wanted to kill Oliver in person."

"Maybe I did. It makes no difference now," He said, his Australian accent thick and low.

"I think it does." Dig approached the bars. "I'm giving you an offer. You can help me defeat Oliver's killers, therefore taking vengeance on them for getting to Oliver first, or you can sit on your ass in here like spam in a can having nothing better to think about than how your revenge was stolen from you."

Slade chuckled softly. "You're asking me, the most dangerous man on this island, to help you? What makes you think you can trust me?"

"I don't need to trust you. I just need to trust your thirst for revenge."

Slade frowned then. "What's in it for me?"

Dig cocked an eyebrow. "You need more reasons? Fine, what do you want?"

"I want to spruce this place up." Slade nodded to himself as if he'd been thinking about this for a while. "I want a giant telly in _that_ corner." Slade motioned to one of the concrete walls. "With…" He thought for a moment. " _500_ channels!"

Dig narrowed his eyes. "200."

"500."

"300."

Slade drug in a growling breath. "500 or _no deal_."

Dig sighed. "Okay, 500."

"Sweet." Slade clenched his fist in victory. "I love me some good telly."

"Okay, now cut the crap, will you do it or not?"

Slade's eye stared into Diggle's for a long moment. "Alright, I'll do it." He raised a finger then. "But I'll need my blades."

"This is spectacular! I can't believe you guys kept all my stuff!" Slade said as he raked through a plastic bin filled with assorted orange and black military armor.

Amanda Waller shook her head as she stood nearby, her distaste and distrust clear. "This doesn't seem right, Mr. Diggle. I feel like we're setting free the devil _and_ giving him back his pitchfork." Dig, who stood next to her, shrugged with indifference and brought up his hip flask full of Jack Daniels for another swig.

"Oh yeah!" Slade said, turning to them as he pulled out a sword. "So when are we going to kick some ass? I can't wait to run these babies through some people!" Slade ran his hand down the side of the blade, stroking it.

Amanda Waller's frown deepened. They were back in Starling now, at A.R.G.U.S.'s head base in Storage Room #6. The room surrounding them was huge, the metal shelving filled with racks of weaponry and other assorted militant things. Slade had had a shower and a much-needed haircut, and Dig had found himself some alcohol. _Good thing Lyla isn't around to see me like this_ , Dig thought as he took another quaff. She was off on a mission in Dublin. She'd made it clear over the phone that she would come back as soon as possible and wished dearly that she could be there for him, but Dig felt that, for now, it was better this way.

"We'll get to the fighting soon enough," Dig said. "Starling City Power & Light is going to receive a fresh shipment of uranium enriched rods two days from now. When that happens, the thieves are likely going to attack again and try to gain control of it. If the Police can't handle it, then we have to be ready to step in and stop them. So until then, we prepare."

"Whatever you say, Dig-Dug, you're the boss!" Slade said, slapping Diggle on the backside. Diggle's eyes bulged.

"Uhhh…alrighty then," Diggle said, obviously uncomfortable. It was clear that Slade had been cooped up in that cell. Way. Too. Long. Working with Slade was weird, but Diggle told himself to just be happy that Slade was cooperating.

Slade scooped up an armful of swords. "Well, I'm going to go chop up some dummies in the training room. Chow."

"Mr. Diggle," Amanda said, leaning in a little closer as Slade left the room. "What about the poison that killed Oliver? We still don't know who we're fighting or what we're up against. What if the same thing happens to you?"

"Don't worry," Diggle said, crossing his arms. "I've already got someone working on that."

Amanda pressed her lips together into a thin line. "Hmmm, okay." Then her eyes flicked down to his flask. "But I'm not okay with you drinking in here."

"That's fine, I was just leaving." Diggle slurred as he staggered out of the room.


	3. Forensics

Chapter Three – Forensics

Barry was late for the graveside service. It was a very private affair, and only people that had known Oliver personally were being allowed anywhere near the proceedings. There was a crowd outside the cemetery, gathered around the gates. They had come to pay their respects from a distance.

He knew the guards wouldn't let him through, as they couldn't just let in everyone who said that they had known Oliver Queen, so he used his speed to dash through their makeshift barrier unnoticed. One second he was outside, the next, he was inside.

He had made it to the visitation the night before, only to race back to Central City afterwards. He needed to be there in case there was another bank robbery, and sure enough, there had been one this morning, which was why he was late. Now he made his way quickly toward the little gathering of mourners, and met John Diggle going the other way.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm late," Barry Allen said, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness. He wore a suit, and held a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "I got held up."

Diggle just nodded. The excuse was irrelevant; Diggle knew that Barry was the fastest man alive. The Flash. He also knew that Barry was Mr. Tardy Pants. Oh well.

"Go pay your respects," Diggle said. "After all this is over, I want you to meet me…" Diggle paused, then: "You know where." A second later, recognition dawned on Barry's face, and he nodded.

"I'll be there," Barry said, in the most reassuring voice he could muster. Diggle put his hand on Barry's shoulder then, but he couldn't think of anything to say. After a moment, both men turned and went their separate ways.

"Do we have any idea where his killers are?" Barry asked. He was with Diggle in what had been the Arrow's secret lair. It was just the two of them.

"No, nothing. They've gone dark," Diggle said. He leaned back against the edge of a table and crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "We don't even know who they are, really. Our only lead is this," Diggle said, handing him something in a small plastic bag. Barry took it, and looked through the clear plastic at a small needle, barely two inches long, inside. It was ivory colored, and looked like it was made of bone.

"That's the poison needle that killed Oliver," Diggle said. Diggle had found it in Oliver's hand that night. He thought the forensic labs at the Starling City police department could analyze it, but Quentin Lance couldn't make it happen.

"I can't," Quentin had said. "I know what you are going to say, but I've pulled all the strings in the department that I can already. There just isn't anything more I can do, not through the department, anyway."

"I understand," Diggle said. Detective Lance had risked his job to help ensure that Oliver's secret identity had remained intact. He would certainly go to jail if anyone found out that he had switched Oliver's blood sample with one that contained rattlesnake venom. If that wasn't enough, Quentin had gotten Oliver's real blood tested and given the results of the toxicology report to Diggle. It showed that the poison was the concentrated venom of the Black Mamba, an incredibly poisonous African snake. If the police had found that in Oliver's blood, they would have certainly opened a murder investigation. Right now, the public and the police thought that Oliver had died accidentally. A rattlesnake had bitten him near his home.

"If there is anything else… let me know," Quentin said. Diggle gave him his word that he would.

Now Diggle was turning to Barry for help. Barry was a forensic scientist.

"I need you to analyze that needle, find out anything you can." Diggle told Barry. "Also, if we are going to fight these terrorists, we're going to need an antidote to the poison. We need to make sure that no one else dies from these needles. You and your friends at Star Labs came through for us when we needed a cure for the Mirakuru, and we need you to come through for us now."

"Don't worry, mister Diggle, we can do it," Barry said.

"We don't have much time," Diggle warned. "We think these thieves will strike again in three days."

"I understand," Barry said, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "We'll work fast."

*** _three days later_ ***

Oliver's last words still rung in Diggle's ears. He had repeated them over and over in his head so many times.

"To activate… shuffle but…"

Felicity had heard them too; she had been in both their ears, supporting them from her remote computer console.

Diggle was lying in his bed now, unable to sleep. What happened the night Oliver died was haunting him. He had been so close, but had been unable to do anything to save his friend. He had taken Oliver by the hood and drug him to safety, at the same time using his free hand to fire his pistol at the attackers. As the poison had moved through Oliver's body, he had become paralyzed one muscle at a time. Until the poison reached his heart.

What had Oliver been trying to tell him? Surely, it was important, Diggle just needed to figure out what it was before it was too late. In just a few hours, the shipment of enriched uranium was coming to SCP&L's reactor one. They were bringing it up the river by boat this time, not in an armed convoy like the last had been. Starling City's finest would be there, patrolling the waters with boats and personal watercraft. Would it be enough?

Felicity was in contact with Barry and his friends at Star Labs, and reported that an antidote wasn't ready yet. Black Mamba venom contained a complex combination of neurotoxins and cardio toxins, as well as others. They were having trouble coming up with an antivenom that would counteract all of them, and be potent enough to work fast enough to save a victim.

What they did have was the name of Oliver's killer. They had found human DNA in the needle that belonged to a man named Jonah Kenneth. Obviously, they were dealing with a meta-human. Cisco Ramone, one of Barry's coworkers at Star Labs, had given the man a nickname. The Black Mamba.

Diggle turned over in his bed, and saw the clock. 4:37 am. Time to go.


	4. Butt Kickin' Time

Chapter Four –Butt Kickin' Time

It was a quiet night on the streets of Starling. Until a large black pickup came roaring over the hill.

"Yeeehah! This is what I'm talkin' about!" Slade yelled, sticking his arm out the window and shaking his fist into the air.

Diggle, who was driving, glanced over at his partner. Both were fully decked out, Slade in his Deathstroke outfit, and Diggle in his Kevlar vest and guns. Once again, Diggle hoped he'd made the right choice by recruiting Slade. Sure, Slade had been one of Oliver's most formidable adversaries at one time. But did Slade still have what it took? He no longer had the Mirakuru in his veins, was Dig just taking some old washed up dude into battle and expecting him to have his back?

"Ooh! Look!" Slade said, pointing ahead at a neon sign maybe a quarter mile ahead. "Big Belly Burger! I haven't had one of those in ages!"

"Come on Slade, we're on a mission here," Dig said, face and tone serious.

"But I'm hungry! You know I can't fight on an empty stomach!"

"Slade. You ate like 10 minutes ago."

"Aww come on! We'll just swing in real quick!"

"No," Dig said sternly. "We're on a mission."

"Look! There's no line in the drive-thru! Let's go! Don't tell me you don't want a Big Belly Burger!" Slade elbowed him playfully, a smile on his face. "Come onnnn."

Dig rolled his eyes.

The black pick-up pulled into the docks with a screech and both men hopped out.

"Man, that really hit the spot." Slade said, wiping off his mustache with a napkin.

Diggle burped and nodded in agreement. Diggle had been loath to take a pit-stop, but the burger had been good and they did have the time. Besides, now Slade would be much more agreeable.

Both men surveyed the docks warily, where a dense morning fog had rolled in.

"This doesn't look good," Diggle said. They were standing at the edge of the river, trying to see through the fog. "I can't even see the boat."

"There," Slade pointed. Sure enough, the lights of a boat could be seen, moving slowly up the river towards them. As it grew closer, Diggle and Slade could see armed men all over the boat and men on sea-dos crisscrossing the water around it.

"Those guys would have to be crazy to try to jack this shipment," Diggle said. "There's no way they're getting past all that firepower."

"Guys, we have a problem." It was Felicity's voice in their ears, talking to them from her remote console. "We've got a hostage situation in The Glades. A twelve-story office building has been taken over by armed men. They've rounded up the office workers and are threatening to kill them."

"What do they want?" Diggle asked.

"Well for starters, they're demanding that we deliver the shipment of fuel rods. To them."

Slade and Diggle arrived at the office building, parked a few blocks away and went the rest of the distance on foot. Police cars surrounded the entire building, and dozens of officers were milling about. A police chopper hovered overhead. Diggle scanned the rooftops of the nearby buildings, and saw snipers there setting up their positions. If the terrorists were smart, they would stay in the interior of the building and not allow the snipers a clean shot.

A sense of uneasiness tightened Diggle's stomach, worry for the people being held inside. The sun had just risen. The sky was clear, and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day for those who would live through it.

"How many hostages?" Diggle asked, speaking to Felicity.

"From the thermal images it looks like sixteen hostages being held in an inner room of the twelfth floor. There are about twenty other figures moving around, presumably all terrorists."

"Mr. Diggle," someone said. It was Quentin Lance, coming towards them. He was wearing his police uniform with a bulletproof vest over it.

"Detective," Diggle said. "What's going on?"

"The terrorists are demanding that we give them the fuel rods, and the chief has decided that we have to comply, at least for now."

"We aren't going in?" Diggle asked, incredulous.

"We're working on a way in, but they've got the place rigged up with booby traps. If we bust in there and one of our men hits a tripwire, the whole building could go up." Quentin said.

Hostage situations were always tricky. Things could change from minute to minute, or more often by the second. In a moment's notice, the police had to be ready to storm the building and try to rescue the hostages.

"I've got an idea," Slade said, surveying the building with narrowed eyes. "How 'bout we stretch a zip line from another building to the upper story, that way we can get in fast."

"Whoa, what the hell is he doing here?" Quentin asked Diggle, clearly alarmed. He hadn't noticed Slade standing there until he spoke.

Dig glanced over at Slade. "Oh, him? He's with me," Diggle said, jerking a thumb in Slade's direction.

Quentin blinked a few times as he struggled to comprehend.

Slade turned to look at Quentin now. "What are you looking at?" he asked, as if demanding an answer.

"We're with A.R.G.U.S., so tell your commanding officer that if anybody goes in, we're going in with them," Diggle clarified.

"I'll see what the captain thinks…" Quentin said, turning and moving away.

Diggle was glad now that they had hit Big Belly when they did. It was going to be awhile before they could eat again.

Slade Wilson, standing on a window ledge, hooked himself onto the zip line. Slade had volunteered to go first, and no one had argued with him. He was 'disposable', and the zip line had been his idea. Diggle and the rest of the squad would be right behind him. They were in an adjacent building now, preparing to zip across to the office building where the hostages were being held. This was not your standard recreational zip-line, however. Nothing about what they were about to do was remotely safe, as the line was steep and they would have to detach at just the right time to let their momentum carry them through the open window of the office building.

"Showtime," Slade said in his thick Australian accent, pulling down his orange and black mask.

Dig dove into a cubicle as bullets ripped through the flimsy fiberboard that made up the cubicle wall. He rolled over and sat up, and with his back pressed up against the side of a desk, he snapped a fresh clip into his Glock 9mm. _They don't have enough ammo to keep us pinned down forever_ , Diggle thought.

They'd made it inside, but the men in black masks were packing a lot of firepower. Diggle's team would normally have had shields in this kind of a situation, but they couldn't take them over the zip line. Two men of Dig's small squad were already down. Luckily just injured, not killed. Their vests had saved them.

Dig exchanged glances with Slade now, who was in the cubicle across the aisle. As soon as the terrorists paused to reload, Dig and Slade would make their move. Diggle got into a crouch and crabbed over to the opening of his cubicle, gun pointed at the ceiling. When he got to the entrance of the cubicle, he leaned his upper body around the corner, leveling his gun and squeezing off a few rounds in the direction of the attackers before pulling back. Two terrorists were at the end of the aisle, directly between them and the hostages. While his team had to be careful not to catch any of the hostages in the crossfire, the terrorists were firing their guns with reckless abandon.

"Alright team, prepare to move from cover and advance on my signal," Diggle said. His radio was picking up his voice and broadcasting to the rest of the squad. Diggle raised his hand, palm out. There was a pause in the gunfire, and it sounded like two of the terrorists may have emptied a clip at nearly the same time! Now was their chance. Diggle karate chopped the air in front of him. The signal to move.

"Now! Go go go!" Diggle cried, as he and Slade both emerged from cover. They ran down the aisle between the cubicles, the rest of the squad right behind them.

 _Pop! Pop! Pop!_ Diggle fired three rounds through the wall of a cubicle at the end of the aisle, and the terrorist that had taken cover there fell to the ground. The second terrorist appeared suddenly from around a corner, swinging the muzzle of his assault rifle towards them, but Slade was there in an instant, cutting him down with his blades without hardly breaking stride.

 _Nice_ , Diggle thought as they continued down the aisle. _Really earning your channels there, Slade._ _This might actually work_.

"Take a left at the end of the aisle, and then take a right through the first door," Felicity said. They did, and burst through the door into a short hallway. Just as they did, and only for an instant, Diggle spotted a figure in a black cloak disappear through one of the side doors.

"Slade, take the team down the corridor and free the hostages!"

"Aye," was the reply. Diggle went through the side door in pursuit of the cloaked figure.

"Felicity, I just broke from the squad and I'm after someone, help me catch him!" Diggle said, lost and desperate.

"Let me see… he's headed toward a stairway that leads to the roof. You might be able to cut him off if you take a right through the next door and then take the first door on your left."

"Okay," Diggle said, running.

"Freeze!" Diggle yelled at the retreating figure. He had caught up, but was winded now. A few more steps and the cloaked enemy would have been through the door that led to the stairwell.

The figure stopped, then whirled and sent a barrage of needles flying in Diggle's direction. Diggle leapt to the side to avoid them, taking cover behind a pillar.

"Hah, you'll have to do better than that!" Diggle declared. He was suddenly aware of a pain in his leg, and looked down to see two of the poison needles embedded in his thigh.

"Crap," He said, pulling them out quickly. But it was too late.

Diggle lay on his back, dying. He knew the poison was making its way through his body, as he was losing feeling in his arms and legs. He also knew how futile trying to move around was, as it would only serve to increase his heart rate. His blood would circulate faster, and the poison that was killing him along with it. His best hope was to lie still and try to stay calm, to buy himself as much time as possible. Not that it really mattered now. _I'm a dead man_ , he thought. He had been foolish to take on the Black Mamba alone. Did he really think that he was better than Oliver, that he could defeat an enemy that The Arrow could not? He had let his emotions get the better of him, something he had always accused Oliver of doing in the past. _I'm sorry Oliver_ , Diggle thought. _I let you down_. That was the part that hurt the most. That he had let Oliver down. And Lyla. She was going to kill him.

Barry was racing toward Starling City at close to the speed of sound. The air around him sizzled, and sparks were streaming off his body and flying up from the ground beneath his feet. The scenery was flying by in a blur.

The anti-venom treatment was ready; he only hoped that it wasn't too late. He was carrying it with him now. Strapped to his back, encased in a titanium fireproof box that had been padded on the inside to protect the fragile medical equipment it contained.

 _Whoosh_. He had arrived outside the office building where the hostages were being held. He stopped and put a hand to his headset.

"I'm here, what should I do?"

"Diggle's been poisoned," Felicity said. "He's on the twelfth floor, but you can't go in the main entrance, it's rigged with explosives. You'll have to find another way in."

"I'm coming Diggle," Barry said, and a half second later he was running straight up the side of the office building. As he raced up, windows on either side of him shattered as he made his way up to the twelfth floor. With a quick swing of his fist as he reached his destination, Barry shattered a window and leapt through it, bursting inside with a shower of broken glass. As soon as he had his footing, he zipped through offices until he came upon a group of terrorists, engaged in battle with a man wearing an orange and black mask.

 _Deathstroke!_ Barry thought. _What's he doing here?_ Deathstroke, a.k.a. Slade Wilson, was fighting with only a pair of swords. _He must be on our side_ , Barry thought.

Moving so fast that everything around him appeared to be moving in super slow motion, Barry surveyed his surroundings like Oliver had taught him. Bullets hung in the air, moving very slowly on their various trajectories, some of them on a collision course with Slade. Also, a hand grenade floated in Slade's direction.

The other members of Slade's squad were there, but they were taking cover. Slade was the only one out in the open, taking his chances in a desperate attempt to free the hostages, and it looked like he was about to pay the price for it.

After grabbing Slade and spinning him out of the line of fire, Barry leapt into the air and used his fist to bat the grenade back in the direction of the terrorists.

About to race away, Barry decided he had time to do one more thing to ensure Slade's success. Pulling the guns from the hands of two of the terrorists, he replaced Slade's swords with them. He then rushed on to find Diggle, neutralizing a few more terrorists with quick uppercuts on the way.

He found Diggle laying on the floor, still conscious. Barry knelt by his side, shrugging the case off his back and smacking it down on the floor. He popped it open, withdrew a hypodermic needle, and began to administer the treatment.

"Stay calm, Mr. Diggle, I'm pretty certain this is going to work," Barry said.

"Pretty certain?" Diggle managed to croak as Barry injected him with something.

"Well, we didn't exactly make it to human trials until now," Barry replied, working as fast as he could. There were some things that just couldn't be done at super speed.

 _So I'm the guinea pig_ , Diggle thought.

"Hurry up, then go catch him," Diggle said, his voice now barely a whisper.

"This is going to take a minute," Barry said. "The anti-venom treatment consists of four different substances, I have to get the dose just right, otherwise…" Barry trailed off as he realized that Diggle had lost consciousness.


	5. A Second Chance

Chapter 5 –A Second Chance

The first thing Diggle saw was a blinding light. _I'm dead_ , he thought. _This is bullshit, Barry was supposed to save me. Ima kill him._

Dig's nose twitched. He smelled fries. And not just any fries. Big Belly Burger fries.

 _Okay, so this is heaven? Not bad, not bad._

Dig opened his eyes though, and all he saw was an ugly concrete ceiling.

"What the..."

He lifted his head and found himself in the main room of S.T.A.R. Labs. The alcove with Barry's Flash suit was to his right, and in front of him, Cisco and Caitlyn were sitting at their computer table having lunch.

"What the heck's going on?" Dig asked.

Both looked up with wide eyes and Cisco popped up from his chair with a grin.

"Hey there big guy!" he said. Dig had met Cisco before, a Hispanic looking kid with dark hair that, in Dig's mind, was way too long. Cisco whipped out his phone and sent off a quick text:

 _Barry! Get back here! Dig woke up!_

Just then, Dr. Wells came buzzing around the corner in his sweet motorized scooter-chair.

"Hello, Mr. Diggle. Glad to see you're awake. We were beginning to worry about you," He said in his slightly British accent, an amicable smile on his face.

Barry came zooming in like a rush of wind, blowing Dig's sheets about.

"Dig!" He cried, eyes wide and smile wider as he came up to Dig's bedside. He was wearing his normal clothes, a button-down and sweater. He had probably come from the Central City precinct.

"How long was I out?" Dig asked as he tried to sit up.

"Well, it's Christmas now," Cisco said with a grin.

Dig's eyes bulged.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes as she got up from her chair. "Three days."

Cisco snickered. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

 _Three days?_ "Did you get him?"

Barry's face fell and he frowned guiltily. "No, sorry. After I gave you the antidote, you started having some sort of an attack. I guess your body didn't take the antidote well. I had to rush you back here. Luckily we were able to stabilize your condition. We weren't sure if you were going to pull out of it."

"And the terrorists...?"

"Slade and his squad freed the hostages, but not before the terrorists got away with the uranium. The police put it in the elevator and sent it up to the twelfth floor as they were instructed, and that was the last time they saw it. We have no idea how the terrorists got away, let alone took the uranium with them. Felicity said their thermal signatures simply disappeared from her screen."

Diggle heaved a deep sigh, his eyes closing, and eyebrows pinching together. He'd failed. With the uranium now in the hands of the terrorists, it was only a matter of time before they made their bomb. Also, Starling City Power & Light would have to shut down the reactor soon, plunging the city into darkness. "I need to get back to Starling City."

"That may not be the best course of action," Dr. Wells said, light reflecting off his glasses. "We still aren't sure what happened to you at the office building. Now that you're awake, we need to run some more tests and make sure that you're going to be okay."

Diggle shook his head. "No, the terrorists need to be stopped, and I can't do anything from here." He wasn't sure what he was going to do next, but he knew that he would figure it out once he got back to Starling.

"John...maybe you should listen to Dr. Wells, I mean, you almost _died,_ " Caitlyn said, her face worried.

Dig looked at the faces of his friends. He could tell from their expressions just how close he had come to buying the farm. What if he _had_ died? Who would have avenged Oliver then? What would have become of Lyla? Of Felicity? Dig felt stupid, having made a mistake that almost cost him his life.

But what was he going to do now? He didn't know. If Oliver had been there, he would have known. But he wasn't, this was something he had to figure out on his own. Unless...

What about Oliver's last words? He had yet to figure out their importance. They were the last aid Oliver had to give to him. Dig had to find out what they meant. Maybe they could help him find a way to stop the Black Mamba.

"I have to get back," Diggle said, pulling away the sheets to reveal his chocolate colored abs. "Starling needs me."


	6. A New Lead

Chapter 6 – A New Lead

Diggle rang the doorbell and while he waited, stared up at the giant mansion. The Queen Mansion, once such a happy, buzzing place, had slowly over the years gotten quieter and lonelier. Now, it was completely bereft of occupants except for Felicity, Oliver's erstwhile fiancée.

"Hi Dig." Felicity said with a small smile as she opened the door. Her eyes were tired and vacant of their usual perkiness, and she was wearing an oversized sweater.

"Hi Felicity, I just dropped by to see how you were doing."

"I'm glad you did. Please, come in." She led him into the sitting area, and Diggle sat down on one of the couches.

"Can I get you anything, Dig?" She asked as she sat down across from him.

"No, thanks, I'm fine." Diggle wished that Felicity would stay someplace else. Just sitting here in the sitting room was enough to bring back painful memories for Diggle.

"How's the investigation going?" She asked after a moment, and Dig knew that it had been on her mind.

"It's…going. We're working on it. Don't worry, Felicity, we'll bring his killers to justice," Diggle said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

Felicity nodded and pushed up her glasses. "I still just wish we knew what Oliver's last words meant. I've looked through all of his things…there's just….nothing." She paused for a moment, and then looked Dig in the eyes. "Would you look through his things? Maybe there's something I missed, I'm not military or anything."

Dig thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Sure, Felicity."

"His study was right in there." She pointed to an open door on the level above them.

"Really though," Dig spoke up. "I came here to see you. If there's anything you want to talk about…you know I'm here for you."

Felicity shook her head, her eyes on the floor as she stood. "No, I don't really feel like talking," She said softly, her voice shaking some.

Dig watched her walk away with a frown. _Poor Felicity…_ After a moment, Diggle got up and made his way up the stairs.

Diggle could see that Felicity had gone through Oliver's stuff, as everything in the room was scattered around. Folders on the floor, drawers pulled open.

There had to be something…something that would give Diggle a clue.

He walked over to a lengthy chest that lay in the corner of the room. Frowning, Dig unlatched it and pulled it open. It had a box of pictures in it, a few old trophies and at the very bottom…

A hockey stick?

"Hello…when did Oliver play hockey?" Dig said to himself as he pulled it out. It looked like it'd taken a beating and it was covered in signatures. _Who's Raphael? Michelangelo_? It was autographed to a mister Casey Jones. "Okay, that makes no sense," Dig said, putting it back and getting up to explore other areas.

"Well, Oliver, you sure were good at hiding your secrets," Dig muttered to himself a while later as he raked through one of the desk drawers. What did he mean? To activate shuffle _but_?

It certainly was continuing to be a mystery. But it was not unlike Oliver to keep secrets, even from the people he trusted the most. In fact, Oliver probably had secret safe houses all over Starling, all packed with equipment in case of emergencies. What if Oliver's message had to do with one of those?

It just made no sense. To activate shuffle but… Shuffle what? Shuffle butter? Was Dig supposed to go digging through Oliver's fridge? The only thing to activate would be Diggle's stomach. Dig sighed and sat down in the computer chair. This was really starting to seem pointless.

Then, his eyes settled on something on Oliver's desk. It was Oliver's Mp3 player, a metallic green iPod nano.

Bored, Dig picked it up, popped in the earbuds and hit play. He immediately cringed. "Backstreet Boys? Really Oliver?" Dig narrowed his eyes. "What poor music tastes."

And then Diggle saw it. On the MP3 player… _to activate shuffle but_ … Could he have meant the shuffle button? _Still makes zero sense but…what the hell._


	7. One More Secret

Chapter Seven – One More Secret

"My name is Oliver Queen. I was stranded for five years on a deserted island. I returned to save my city from the people who would destroy it. If you are listening to this, it means that I have failed," said Oliver's recorded voice in Diggle's ears. "No matter the circumstances, I want my friends and family to know that my death is not their fault. I chose how to live my life. I made enemies, and put myself in harm's way. I did it to protect the innocent people of Starling City.

I know that I leave behind a legacy of lies. Nothing hurt me more than having to lie to the people I loved. I am truly sorry, but there is one more secret that I kept from everyone. Even my closest friends. I am telling you now because I am gone. I can no longer protect the people of Starling. As you may know, I have sworn not to kill unless it is necessary. But before I took that oath, I did not hesitate to kill people that got in the way of my objective. During that time, the second year after I returned to Starling from the island, when I still controlled Queen Consolidated, I had the Applied Sciences Division build a weapon for me. Not a weapon that I ever intended to use, but a precaution in case I came up against something, or someone, that I couldn't fight as the Arrow. I hid the weapon on the island of Lian Yu."

"The island," Diggle muttered to himself under his breath.

Oliver's voice went on to describe in detail the location of the weapon, and give the pass codes required to open the vault that it was stored in.

"I hope that whoever is listening to this will use this weapon for good and to protect people as I have strived to do. Good Luck."

Though it was a fairly sunny day, in the forest the trees blocked most of the sunlight. This made Diggle's walk a shady one. Diggle was on an island in the South China Sea. Lian Yu. Oliver had spent several years here; even come back for several months after Malcolm Merlin had messed up the Glades.

Diggle slapped a mosquito that landed on his arm. He now stood before the entrance to a cave. _Just where Oliver said it would be._ Ducking as he stepped through the entrance, he clicked on his flashlight and surveyed the inside. The air inside the cave was moist and cool, its rough rock walls dark and irregular. The cavern he was in was small, its floor only about fifty square meters in area.

A sweep of his flashlight revealed a safe set into the far wall. It was nearly as tall as he was, and about a half meter wide. He walked over to it and typed on the keypad, entering the combination that Oliver had given him. Once he had entered all the numbers and pressed the enter key, the tumblers clicked inside the lock. He heard a soft whirring sound as the deadbolt retracted. The anticipation was killing Diggle, as he was dying to know what he had traveled all this way to find. He gave the door to the safe a tug and it swung open. Shining his flashlight into the dark interior, he saw what looked like a shoulder quiver hanging inside. Something was inside the quiver, and it definitely wasn't arrows. He could just see its sleek dark handle protruding from the top. Then Diggle realized he was looking at a gun in a holster. He reached inside and took the holster from the safe, then grasped the handle of the gun and pulled it out.

"Whoa, this thing is big," Diggle said, turning it over in his hands. "And heavy." It was two feet long, and had a barrel as wide as Diggle's hand. It was black and chrome with two veins of ruby red on either side. _I wonder what it does..._

 _Never mind that, I have it._

Now it was time to get off this stupid island. He shoved the gun back in its holster, slinging it over his shoulder by its strap. Soon he was outside the cave, striding back towards the shore where his boat was waiting.

 _Alright, now I can get out of here. I've got a city to save. This whole little escapade has already taken up valuable time. Starling's going to go dark in—_

Click.

Diggle froze mid-step and jerked his head down to see he'd just stepped on the pressure plate of a land mine. His heart rate spiked. _Crap._ It was old, and had probably been there since World War II.

 _This is just great. If I move I'll be obliterated. I hate this Island...I should have known it would try to kill me..._

Diggle knew he had little chance of escaping this. He could try to call someone and get help, but by the time help came, there was a good chance that he'd accidentally shift his weight and set it off. That was too much of a risk to take.

 _There's only one way_. Diggle knew that if he leapt away, as far as he could, he might be able to escape the explosion with little more than some burns and a few chunks of shrapnel in his hide. _If I'm lucky, maybe this land mine is so old, it won't go off. Here goes nothing._

Diggle coiled and leapt forward with all his might. As soon as his feet left the ground, an explosion of flames erupted from the ground and chunks of dirt and shrapnel spread through the air.

A few seconds later, there was nothing but smoke rising from where the mine had been.

 _I made it! I'm alive!_ Diggle thought. He'd jumped far enough to escape the blast.

In fact, Diggle was nearly five meters away, perched up in a tree! Diggle looked down at himself with wide eyes. He couldn't believe what he had just done. The jump he had just made wasn't just impossible, it was _super human_.

 _What's happened? How did I do that?_ Diggle wondered. Then he remembered the antidote that Barry had given him. _That must be it. They never told me what was in it._ _When I get back, I'm gonna give those little freaks at Star Labs a piece of my mind!_


	8. The Mongoose

Chapter Eight- The Mongoose

"You must have acquired the mongoose's synaptic response times as well as its anionic receptors! That's so cool!" Cisco said, lollipop in hand. Diggle was back at S.T.A.R. Labs, trying to get some answers. Apparently, they had infused Diggle with mongoose DNA, particularly the gene that controlled the mongoose's immunity to neurotoxins. Apparently however, other genes had been transferred as well.

"No, not cool! You people didn't tell me you were going to alter my genetic code!" Dig grumbled, visibly upset.

"Oops," Cisco shrugged. "I thought Barry explained it to you. But look on the plus side! Now you have insane reflexes."

"It's seems that your body has actually taken to the foreign DNA quite well," Caitlyn Snow said, as she peered at a screen on the computer table. "So far then, you haven't noticed any ill side-effects?"

Diggle shook his head.

"This is so sick! You're like a meta-human now!" Cisco crowed.

Diggle's scowl darkened. "This isn't natural; I liked it better when I was just human. Who's to say what other things might happen to me?"

Dr. Wells leaned on the computer table and nodded thoughtfully. "Mr. Diggle is right. He's very lucky that the DNA took to his system like this, otherwise he would have died." He looked Diggle in the eyes. "We're going to have to do full blood work and a body scan to better determine what's happening to you."

Diggle heaved a sigh. "I don't have time for this."

"Look at the bright side!" Cisco said, sticking his lollipop back in his mouth. "Now you'll never get poisoned again! And with your new reflexes you'll be a butt-kicking machine! We should call you...The Mongoose..." Cisco trailed off as he nodded slowly, his gaze traveling upward _._

 _These people are too smart for their own good_ , Diggle thought. _And Cisco's not taking me seriously_. "When this is over," Dig pointed menacingly at Cisco. "I'm gonna shave that little head of yours."

Cisco's jaw went slack and his lollipop fell out of his mouth and hit the floor, shattering.

"Anyways…" Dig growled. "I been thinking, and I've decided that I need a mask."

"A mask?" Caitlyn raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Oliver wore a mask so people wouldn't recognize him and his loved ones wouldn't be hurt. If I keep going out like this, I need to do the same thing. Considering what's just happened, I think you people owe me a mask."

Cisco had recovered from his shock and now looked thoughtful. "No…you don't want a mask."

"Excuse me?"

Cisco began nodding his head, and pointed an index finger at the ceiling. "I've got something better, hold on one second," he said, turning and running off.

"What's he talking about?" Diggle asked.

Caitlyn and Dr. Wells just shrugged.

"Here! This is it!" Cisco ran back into the room with a black and chrome something dangling from his hand. "They're goggles! They've got night vision and thermal imaging and are tinted too!"

Diggle took the head gear and looked it over. It actually didn't look half bad. "Okay, I can work with this."

"What you really need is a full outfit. Something stretchy that won't hinder your movement...I'll get to working on that right away." Cisco danced away into an adjacent lab.


	9. Lights Out

Chapter Nine – Lights Out

"What the heck are you wearing?" Slade asked, looking at Diggle's new duds with an eyebrow lifted. Diggle was back in Starling City now, and he had come to A.R.G.U.S. to pick up Slade.

"What, you think you're the only one who gets to wear a costume?" Diggle asked as the guards unlocked Slade's cell. Diggle was wearing the skin tight suit that Cisco had made for him. The pants were a dull gray, the shirt dark brown with a vertical stripe of lighter gray down the front. On his hands, he wore black fingerless gloves. All together, it made perfect urban camouflage. Cisco said it had things built into it too, similar to Barry's suit.

Little of that mattered to Diggle. What mattered to him was that everyone had seen the terrorists on television, threatening the city with their nuclear device. They said that they would use it to level the city.

Now that the public knew about the bomb they were going nuts. And it didn't help that the power was out. And the sun was going down.

What _did_ help was that just before things had gone dark, Felicity had been able to trace the hack on the television station back to where the terrorists had broadcasted. Starling City National Airport. Diggle and Slade were heading there now.

"I guess this means we won't be hitting the Big Belly Burger then," Slade said as they stepped up the last steps and onto the roof of the building.

A large black helicopter was waiting for them there, a troop transport. It was the only way to go. Once the city had gone dark, everyone had flooded out into the streets, either in their cars or on foot, causing major traffic jams. Without street lights, the only light in the city was from car headlights and handheld flashlights. There was widespread looting. With the police tied up trying to restore order to the city, it was up to Diggle and Slade to get to the airport with a task force via helicopter.

"Shame they don't have a helipad," Slade mused.

Diggle's mind had been elsewhere, and it took him a moment to think of what Slade was talking about.

"Seriously, Slade?" Diggle said. It was Diggle's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"What?" Slade shrugged. "Prison food sucks."

Diggle shook his head as they made their way to the helicopter.

"It's up to us, men," Diggle stated loudly to the group of men that had been waiting for them. They stood in a neat row, and were all wearing body armor and helmets. They held rifles in their hands.

As the chopper powered up, Diggle had to talk over the chopping sound of the helicopter blades cutting the air. "The Police and National Guard are indisposed. We need to stop the terrorists from using the bomb. If we succeed, we'll be able to restore power to Starling and bring these killers to justice. The fate of this city is in our hands. If we fail this city, thousands will die." This last sentence was met with grim faces and stoic nods by the men. Many of them probably lived in Starling, had families here. They understood the stakes.

"Let's move out!" Diggle shouted.

Together, Diggle and his crew boarded the helicopter. Moments later they took off into the night air, flying over the darkened city.

During the flight, there were many questions on Diggle's mind, nagging him. _These terrorists are insane,_ Diggle thought. _Why do they want to blow up Starling so bad, and h_ _ow did they even know how to make a bomb?_ Jonah Kenneth had been an insurance salesman, not a nuclear physicist. _They must have had help,_ Diggle thought. _The terrorists have gotten away twice already, first at the warehouse and again at the office building. But how?_ It didn't make any sense.

Diggle slid his goggles down and set his lips into a grim line. This time, there would be no escape for the man that had killed Diggle's best friend.


	10. The Black Mamba

Chapter Ten– The Black Mamba

"Take us down over there," Diggle instructed the pilot. They were over the airport now, and Diggle was glad. It had been so weird, flying over the darkened city. He had never seen it like this. With all the power out, he had been able to see the stars.

The pilot put them down in front of the airport, a long rectangular building with terminals jutting out in all directions. Luckily, the airport had backup generators, so there were a few lights to land by. As soon as the helicopter's landing gear touched ground, Diggle and his team were spilling out and heading toward the nearest entrance.

Diggle knew that the terrorists would try to gain control of a plane so that they could escape the city before the explosion. His objective was to keep those planes on the ground, by whatever means necessary.

Diggle led his team inside the building, running past the baggage claim carousels and up the escalator towards the security screening area. Gunshots rang out, and as the team reached the top of the escalator they were confronted with a grim scene.

There were still civilians here, their flights having been grounded due to the power outage. A few were sprawled out on the ground, having been killed by the terrorists. A few could be seen cowering behind the baggage claim counters. Shattered glass and bullet casings littered the floor.

Diggle saw some of the terrorists now, only twenty meters from where he stood. They were using the passenger screening area as cover: a half dozen long, parallel, waist high counters with metal detectors sandwiched in between.

The terrorists were engaged in a firefight, security guards and TSA officers near the terminal gates preventing them from moving forward and accessing any of the terminals.

Diggle and his team continued running toward the fray, and as soon as the enemy was in range, squeezed off a few shots and dropped two of the terrorists, caught blindsided by the attack coming from behind.

"Take cover!" Diggle commanded. The element of surprise was lost, and the terrorists were turning some of their fire on Diggle's team.

There were only about a dozen terrorists left, Diggle figured, and they were pinned down now. Unless they broke cover, they were going to be hard to take out.

Diggle stopped and got into a crouch behind a water fountain that was set against the wall, just as a spray of gunfire peppered the wall with bullets, sending bits of plaster raining down on Diggle's head. He glanced around, and saw that the rest of his team had followed suit, ducking behind whatever cover they could find. All except for Slade Wilson.

"Cover me!" Slade growled, running past Diggle toward the screening area. His mask was down over his face and his swords were drawn. Reaching a security counter, he leapt into the air, landing on top of it. A few strides took him to the far end where he leapt again, this time doing a back flip in the air. His arc brought him down with his swords slicing into a terrorist, one that had been using that counter as cover. As the terrorist crumpled, Slade whirled around to see a figure clad in a black cloak, crouched down a few feet away. _So this is the man that killed Oliver Queen,_ Slade thought. _I wanted Oliver to suffer. I will have to make this man suffer instead._ The figure got to his feet, swinging an arm in an arc that sent poison needles flying toward Slade. Instinctually, Slade swung his swords, striking the needles from the air before they could reach him.

The cloaked figure turned and made a run for it now, heading towards a side door that read _EMPLOYEES ONLY._ Diggle's men held their fire. They had been instructed not to engage the Black Mamba. Slade took a step forward, and as he did, saw something move out of the corner of his eye.

A man in a black ski mask popped up from behind a nearby counter, firing his Kalashnikov rifle into Slade's chest. Slade's chest burned as if he had been seared with a hot poker. His vision blurred as he stumbled backwards a few feet. Most of the bullets had been stopped by his bulletproof vest, except for one. It had carved a groove in his left arm.

The terrorist who had shot him ducked down and took cover again. However, Slade knew he'd pop up again in a moment to finish him off.

He closed his eye for just a moment as he struggled to push the pain from his mind, to find the clarity he needed to defeat his enemies. In that moment he heard a voice. In his mind, Shado's ghost was standing right beside him, whispering in his ear.

" _You and John Diggle have something in common, Slade. You both understand the need to avenge the death of someone you love. So, you didn't get to make Oliver suffer as much as you wanted to, but the Black Mamba is not yours to kill. That privilege belongs to Diggle, and you must see that he gets it."_

 _I understand,_ Slade thought, opening his eye.

"Go!" Slade yelled from behind his mask, pulling his swords from the limp body of the terrorist that had shot him. "He's getting away!"

 _Over my dead body_ , Diggle thought. "Cover me!" he commanded, jumping to his feet and hurrying after the Mamba. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a terrorist pop up and train his gun on him, but an instant later Slade was there, cutting the terrorist down with his blades.

 _Thanks, Slade,_ Diggle thought. _You really do have my back._

The Mamba disappeared through the door, and by the time Diggle reached it, it had swung shut. He grasped it by the handle, flinging it open.

 _Now, if I play my cards just right,_ Diggle thought to himself. He proceeded into the room causally, as if he was walking into a restaurant. It didn't feel natural to Diggle just then, but it was all part of the game he was about to play.

The Black Mamba was running towards a door on the other end of the room, his back to Diggle. They were in the airport's spare parts room, a long concrete-floored storage area full of plane parts and boxes.

"Hey, you!" He yelled at the Mamba's back. The Mamba stopped and whirled around to face him. Diggle reached up, pushing his goggles onto his forehead, and as he did so a look of recognition dawned on the Mamba's face.

"What the…" The Black Mamba said, eyes wide. "I thought I killed you!"

Diggle acted puzzled. "Who, me?" Diggle mouthed, pointing a finger at his own chest.

"Whatever…" The Mamba said, suddenly angry. "Die again!" He spread his arms and sent a shower of darts hurdling towards Diggle. Standing his ground, Diggle allowed one of the darts to hit him in the shoulder. Diggle looked down at it now, shaking his head as he sighed.

"Ah, just a flesh wound."

The Black Mamba stood rooted to the spot, his jaw slack as he stared in shock. Never before had his poison darts not killed their victim. This man didn't even seem afraid.

Diggle reached over his shoulder, pulling the gun out of its holster on his back and leveling it at the Mamba's ribs.

"I got no idea what this thing does. Wanna find out?" Diggle asked. The gun emitted a high-pitched whine as it powered up. "Tell me where the bomb is, and maybe I won't vaporize you."

The Black Mamba frowned at him. "Fine, I'll tell you where it is... besides, you'll never get to it in time. It's in a van, in the parking garage of the airport."

"The elevated parking garage?" Diggle asked.

"Yes, now if you'll excuse me I have a plane to catch," The Mamba said, turning his back to Diggle with a swish of his cloak.

Just then, Diggle heard Barry's voice in his earpiece: "I'm on my way there!" Barry Allen had been listening while searching for the bomb, and at this very moment would be racing to that parking garage. Diggle only hoped that Barry could disable the bomb in time.

Diggle scowled as the Black Mamba resumed his flight toward the exit."Oh no you don't," he said. "I'm taking you in, dead or alive."

The Mamba stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "You'll never take me alive."

Diggle shrugged. "Dead it is then."

Diggle fired his gun, missing the Mamba by only a hands breadth. The Mamba had leapt clear, and was now making a run for it. The crimson bolt of pure energy that surged from the muzzle of Diggle's gun had left a basketball-sized hole in the side of a forklift that was parked on the other side of the room. The perimeter of the hole was glowing white hot, red rivulets of molten metal trickling from it down to the floor. _Damn, that's cool,_ Diggle thought before turning his attention back to the Mamba.

Diggle knew that he couldn't allow the Mamba onto a plane. He couldn't let the Mamba get close to anyone. How many innocents would be killed by a shower of poison darts? Diggle had to stop the Mamba, and stop him now. He just didn't want to shoot him in the back.

 _He's fast._ Diggle thought. _But I'm faster._ It only took Diggle an instant to holster his gun and follow the Mamba, closing the distance between them and pouncing like a puma. Diggle landed on the Mamba's back, sending both men crashing to the concrete floor. The Mamba went down hard, while Diggle's momentum sent him rolling off and tumbling away. Diggle recovered quickly and started to get up, and as he did, saw that his enemy was doing the same. Their eyes met, and Diggle found himself looking into the yellow eyes of a snake. The Mamba opened his mouth and let out an angry hiss.

 _That's some messed up sh..._ Diggle thought, gritting his teeth. Just then, Diggle heard a deep growl. To his surprise, it was coming from his own throat. _What am I, an animal?_ Diggle wondered.

Diggle brought himself up into a crouch, then launched himself toward the Mamba. The Mamba hurled himself at Diggle, and the two of them met in midair.

"Guys, hauling this thing off isn't gonna be an option," Barry said. He was in the back of a cargo van, pulling the sheet off of a nuclear device. No sound came from it, the only sign of life was the red numbers on the timer. They were counting down toward zero.

Weighing in at nearly 150 kilos, it was a beast. Too much to carry, even for The Flash. "We're going to have to disarm it."

"Don't worry Barry," Cisco said in his earpiece. "We'll step you through it. First, you're going to have to expose the inner wiring."

"On it." Barry said, kneeling by the bomb and pulling away a sheet of metal on its side. He stared at the bundles of wires he had just revealed. They were every color of the rainbow. "What now?"

Caitlyn spoke then. "Okay, Barry, this is going to be a very complicated process, you need to be very careful that you don't do the wrong thing."

"Right." _Like the fact that I'm basically hugging a nuclear bomb could possibly escape my mind,_ Barry thought.

"The first thing you should do is see if you can find a small yellow wire coming from the timer," she continued. "If you cut that, it'll stop the timer from going any faster if the bomb senses it's being tampered with."

Barry found the wire, and with a quick snip from his wire cutters, it was cut. "Now what?"

"Now cut the red wire coming from the detonator."

Barry carefully parted some wires and peered into the inner guts of the bomb. "I don't see one."

"Look again Barry, it should be right there." Cisco said, panic edging into his voice.

Barry shook his head and frowned. "I'm telling you, there's no wire!" His eyes skipped over the whole bomb as his stomach clenched. "Guys, what do I do?"

"Uh...um...hold on, we're looking for an alternate method."

Barry clamped a hand to his earpiece and scowled. "Hurry! We're running out of time!"

Diggle and the Mamba went spinning to the ground, and when they rolled to a stop Diggle was on top, pummeling the Mamba with furious blows. Diggle's fist connected with the side of the Mamba's head, but the Mamba got his arm free and threw Diggle off. The Mamba had hardly gotten to his feet before Diggle was on him again, delivering a karate chop to the Mamba's throat. He staggered backward, but was ready when Diggle came at him again. He dodged Diggle's punch, ducking down and catching Diggle's arm. Then he pivoted, using Diggle's own momentum to throw him through the air.

 _I don't have time for this_ , Jonah Kenneth thought to himself. He hastily pushed up a sleeve of his cloak so he could see the watch on his wrist. Its timer read eleven minutes and seven seconds, counting down until the bomb would go off. He had to go now or he would be caught in the blast like everyone else.

"You're pretty good." he said as Diggle got up. "Why don't you join me instead of fighting for this city of garbage? The people I work for would love you."

 _So he does have help,_ Diggle thought. "Because this city needs someone to protect it from people like you."

The Mamba suddenly whipped a knife from his cloak and threw it at Diggle's head. It was a close call, but Diggle still managed to move enough for it to go slicing through empty air and thunking into a wooden crate behind him.

"Who are you?!" The Black Mamba screamed in frustration as they circled each other.

"I'm the Arrow's best friend."

"The Arrow...Aaaahh." The Mamba nodded slightly as he began to comprehend. "You fight for vengeance. Then I can see you can't be bought."

Jonah Kenneth knew his poison darts were useless against this man, and somehow, though he was fast, so was this friend of the Arrow. Defeating him in hand to hand combat was not going to happen, but he had one thing that would end this pointless battle.

Diggle saw the Mamba reach into his cloak, and when his hand emerged it held a revolver.

 _So it's a duel,_ Diggle thought to himself. The Mamba brought the gun up, and in the same moment, Diggle drew his gun. Both men fired at the same time, the laser bolt coming from Diggle's gun vaporizing the lead round from the Mamba's gun before striking the Mamba himself.

 _Game over,_ Diggle thought.

A few tattered scraps of cloak sifted down through the air.

Diggle walked over and stood over the smoking body of the Black Mamba, now nothing more than burnt flesh wrapped in a tattered cloak. "I really hate snakes." Diggle said, shaking his head.

Just then, the door that Diggle had first come through opened and Slade poked his head into the room. "Hey, did you win?"

Diggle nodded, his expression satisfied. Finally, justice had been served.

"Did he suffer?" Slade asked. Then he noticed the smoking body of the Mamba, and raised an eyebrow. "Nice."

"Guys! I did it! I disabled the bomb!" Barry said in Diggle's earpiece excitedly.

"Good work, Barry. Slade, what of Mamba's men?"

"Taken care of." Slade said, dusting off his hands.

Diggle holstered his gun. He had done it. He had finally avenged Oliver. He had saved Starling City. He had almost died several times doing it, but through all the adversities, through all the dilemmas, he had prevailed.

Slade raised his Deathstroke mask. "So...can we go to Big Belly Burger now?" he asked, his face hopeful.

Diggle sucked in a deep breath and then smiled. "Sure, Slade."


	11. An Honored Agreement

Chapter 11 – An Honored Agreement

John Diggle was using both hands to spin the handle on the door to Slade's cell. Amanda Waller and Slade Wilson looked on. Waller turned to Slade now.

"I'm impressed Mr. Wilson. You did good," she said. "You didn't try anything, and accomplished the mission. I guess I misjudged you."

"I'm a simple man," Slade said. "I like my naps, my beer, my telly… MY TELLY!" Slade roared, his eye wide and mouth hanging open. Diggle had the door open now, and Slade could see the massive flat screen mounted on the wall, flanked by towering speakers.

"We even threw in a few more channels," Diggle said as they all entered the cell. "We would have gotten you more, but they told us there just weren't any more. At least not in English anyway."

"Sweeeet," Slade said, admiring his new 72" HD flat screen, A/V receiver, ten foot tall speakers, and Blu-Ray player. He went up to the television and stroked it. "So big..."

After a moment, Slade stumbled back and fell into the enormous overstuffed recliner facing the television, staring at everything with an awed expression.

"Oh, and you'll be needing this," Diggle said, handing Slade a remote control.

Slade took the remote, then looked Diggle in the eyes. "You're alright Dig-dug, I'd fight by your side anytime," Slade said, extending his hand. Diggle accepted it, and they shook hands. Slade had earned a modicum of trust in Diggle's eyes, and clearly Diggle had earned some respect in Slade's.

As Slade looked up at Diggle with his one eye, he thought to himself that surprisingly, he felt like he was kind of going to miss Diggle. When Diggle had first approached him with the offer of lending help, Slade had taken him up on it only so he could get out of his prison and get some television. But somewhere along the road, he'd realized that helping Diggle put away the bad guys, and saving a city full of people felt...good. And though Slade had had to put up with a lot of dirty looks throughout it all, he'd never felt as if Diggle was judging him. Perhaps he'd made a friend. After all, Diggle had taken Slade to the Big Belly Burger one last time.

"If I need you, I know where to find you," Diggle said, a little grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. _I wonder what it means that someone as nutso as Slade thinks I'm "alright"_ , Diggle wondered to himself.

Diggle walks away from Slade's cell to the clicking of ratchets as technicians mount the seventh and final satellite dish on top of it. It seems strange to Diggle that he is a meta-human now. _I don't want to be called a meta-human,_ Diggle thinks to himself. _Hmm... How about... "genetically modified badass"_. _Yes, that's way better._

Heavy metal music starts playing, slightly tinny and muffled. Diggle pulls his phone out and touches the screen; the music stops.

"Hello," Diggle says, now holding the phone to his ear.

"John," Lyla says. "I'm back, where are you?"

"Uh..."

"You don't have to tell me, just tell me you're coming home."

"I'm on my way."

"Good, because I have something to tell you."

 _I've got something to tell you too_ , Diggle thought. "Good news?" He asked.

"Very good, now get your butt back here," Lyla said mischievously.

"I love you," Diggle said, a huge grin on his face.

"I love you too, and I'll see you soon," Lyla said, hanging up. Diggle put the phone back in his pocket. He thought he knew what she had to tell him. They had been trying to have a baby for a while now.

The sky was clear tonight, sending a shaft of moonlight onto the dirt mound of a fresh grave. Diggle stood facing it now, his face somber.

Oliver Queen 1983-2016.

 _He was too young. He had so much life left to live._ This saddened Diggle to the utmost. Oliver could have lived a full life of love, laughter and family with Felicity. But instead, because he had chosen the life of a vigilante, he was gone. Nothing could change that. Diggle had lost a great friend and the world had lost a great man. But now, at least, his killer had been brought to justice. And Diggle wouldn't stop until he'd put an end to all of the men involved in helping or directing the Mamba.

"Now you can rest in peace, Oliver _."_ Diggle whispered softly. Somewhere, wherever Oliver was, Diggle hoped he could hear him. "Your city is safe with me."

Not for the first time since the Black Mamba's death, Diggle contemplated the path his life was taking. Should he follow in his friend's footsteps or choose a different way? He had Lyla to think of, their baby now too. Would it be right to continue Oliver's work if he just received the same fate as his friend? But now, standing here at Oliver's grave, Diggle could not imagine another life for himself. He and Lyla had lived dangerous lives before, how had things really changed? Diggle was finally decided, he was willing to take the risk.

 _I will honor your death my friend, by continuing your work._

Diggle slid down his goggles and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

THE END

A.N: Hey! It's Slug Mamma! Hope you enjoyed the read! I wrote this story with my big bro so if you liked it I don't deserve all the credit.

I know we ignored a lot of main characters that are in the show, notably: Laurel, Thea, Roy and Ray Palmer, but they didn't really add anything to the story we were trying to tell and we didn't want this fanfic to be HUGE, so we cut back on characters.

We have always liked the Diggle character and wanted to write something that showed him reaching his full potential. I know that he does some in season four, but to truly become his best version, we believed we needed to eliminate Oliver Queen, something they could never do in the show.

For those of you who think that Slade would never cooperate, remember that Oliver and he had been like brothers on the island, and that Slade-minus-Oliver-minus-mirakuru= the Slade in our story, one much like the mercenary he was before all that island nonsense.

My brother and I are anxious to get reviews and see what people think, so PLEASE drop us a line in the comment box below. We really appreciate the feedback, no matter what you have to say.

Also, we are working (and considering) a sequel. So if you are excited, give me a follow and then you'll know when I get it up. We are also open to suggestions! Do you have any ideas for how a sequel should go? Any characters you'd like to see us write about? Let us know!

Oh, and, make sure your socks are on tight, because if we get this sequel rocking, you're going to be looking for them later.

See yah, Sluggies!


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